Buyers Should Beware when Considering Investments Involving Bitcoin

Bitcoin, and the exchanges that provide a space for trading Bitcoin, have received a lot of press lately. The Wall Street Journal reported on February 11, 2014 that the price of a Bitcoin dropped to approximately $650. This would be a significant drop from a trading high of over $1,100 per Bitcoin in mid-December 2013, according to CoinDesk’s Bitcoin Price Index.

As the Journal reported, the Slovenia-based Bitcoin-trading exchange Bitstamp halted customer withdrawals while Bulgaria-based BTC-e had delays in crediting transactions. This, apparently, came as a result of a hacker attack on the exchanges. Recently, Mt. Gox, a Tokyo-based Bitcoin trading exchange recently reported that it was halting withdrawals for a period of time after it discovered a software glitch that “could give rogue traders a way to falsify transactions,” as reported by the Journal. Incidentally, according to Wired, Mt. Gox stands for “Magic: The Gathering Online Exchange” and prior to 2011 was a digital trading exchange for Magic playing cards. According to that Wired article, in 2011, the website was changed to handle transactions exchanging Bitcoin.

Back in 2011, it was reported by Daily Tech that Mt. Gox was forced to shut down trading and “roll back” trades after 478 accounts were allegedly hacked, resulting in the withdrawal of a total of 25,000 Bitcoins. Mt. Gox reportedly informed investors that they “assume no responsibility should your funds be stolen by someone using your password,” and that the hacker made off with only 1,000 of the Bitcoins stolen. According to the Daily Tech article, the hacker gained access to the investors’ passwords by hacking Mt. Gox’s database.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has taken notice of Bitcoin. In 2013, it charged an individual named Trendon T. Shavers for running a Ponzi scheme involving Bitcoin. According to the SEC’s news release, he set up a company called Bitcoin Savings and Trust and raised approximately 700,000 Bitcoin, allegedly offered investors 7% weekly interest as a result of Bitcoin arbitrage activity. However, he used certain investors’ Bitcoins to pay other investors’ interest, as well as his own personal expenses.

The SEC then issued an Investor Alert to inform the public of Ponzi schemes involving virtual currency. In the Investor Alert, the SEC stated that fraudsters may choose to use virtual currencies like Bitcoin, because of the lack of governmental or regulatory oversight. The SEC went on to state that any investments in securities, such as promissory notes or other investments promising regular payments in Bitcoin, remain subject to the SEC’s jurisdiction and continue to require licensure by federal or state agencies.

The Bitcoin, a virtual currency, remains a risky investment, given that exchanges are not yet subject to governmental regulation. Investments based on Bitcoin must still be marketed and sold in accordance with securities laws and related regulations, and so must be suitable for investors and appropriate under each specific investor’s circumstances. If you believe you were not properly informed of the risks associated with an investment based on Bitcoin, please contact the attorneys at Malecki Law to determine if you have a claim for damages.